QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the 24 hours to 10:49 am AST (14:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Parguera

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west-southwest of La Parguera, PR, at 8:58 am AST on 17 March 2018 (12:58 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 7 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

29 km (18 mi) S of Mayagüez, PR · 122 km (76 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

8:58 am AST, Mar 17, 2018 · · 13 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 9 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 10 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 20 kmHormigueros Municipio 21 kmSabana Grande Municipio 24 kmYauco Municipio 31 kmMaricao Municipio 32 kmGuayanilla Municipio 34 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
8:58 am AST on 17 March 2018 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) west-southwest of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 9 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3161 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In La Parguera, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Pole Ojea, Boquerón, Palmarejo, Lajas, Monte Grande, Sabana Eneas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 39 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 37 km NW of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 17.9415, -67.1121. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 4 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 3 km ENE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 4 km ESE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 4 km SW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 4 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 3 km E of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 6 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 3 km ENE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 1 km SSE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 2 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 5 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 1 km NNW of La Playa, Puerto Rico

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.